Still buzzing this morning. Second game this tournament, we have won despite the officials and VAR. So big to get the Penalty hoodoo out of their heads. Sweden will try and make it a fight, and a turgid mess. Fouls and holding, slowing the game down. The Ref wont help us. They probably would have been looking at Pens as a viable option, knowing our history. That might put some doubts in their minds.
Good to hear FML and Engerland seemed to have lost their way in the first half of ET, but they managed to turn it around. How good was Pickford's save, as that ball was really travelling??? It certainly won't be a classic game on Saturday and as you say, we'll have to contend with the officials/VAR Edit - So Sterling voted as England's worst player - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44704273
I'm not sure what I enjoyed more, England winning or Columbia losing. The latter being a despicable bunch of cheats, can't believe some of the things they got away with. Good riddance.
To introduce VAR and then not use it for holding / wrestling in the box at set pieces - which has been prevalent and the one negative and disappointing thing about this whole tournament is ludicrous. Where was the VAR official when Barrios (?) headed Henderson in the chest and then on the chin? That was serious foul play and a straight red but only warranted a yellow card in the on-field ref's view - he should have been told to have a look at the replay video by the VAR officials, surely? Chris Sutton on 606 kept referring to Colombia as thugs.
I kept being reminded of '66 and our game against Argentina, who Alf Ramsey referred to as animals. I'm sure if the ref had issued the correct red card we would have seen a similar reaction with Colombia walking off the pitch.
I didn't say they were not poor, I said they were difficult to play against. Every attack was blocked, kicked, wrestled into submission. But when we did get crosses in, they were far more competent at defending them than Panama. Bah!
They were good defensively. I don't think they ever looked threatening, except with violence and cheating.
I disagree on Sterling. He was much improved yesterday, made good runs, created space and tried seriously hard. His touch was wayward in the first quarter or so, but he warmed up a bit. Obviously he's still a long way from his club performances, but he looked a lot better. Generally, England fans seem to have seized on him as the target for ire, sometimes justified, sometimes not. the system doesn't suit him though. I'd like to see him used as an impact substitute when there's a bit more space
